New York, USA, October 30 (agencies) - Vlade Divac scored 27 points, and Predrag "Peja" Stojakovic had 26 points, as the Sacramento Kings beat the Seattle SuperSonics 101-95 in their season opener Tuesday night.
The biggest contribution came from Divac, who also had eight rebounds and eight assists while running the floor and banging inside with vigor.
Predrag Stojakovic
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Sacramento led by seven after Doug Christie, who missed nine of his first 10 shots, dunked with 1:57 left. Gary Payton cut the lead to 98-93 with a lay-up, but Christie stripped the ball from Payton with 43 seconds left, and Stojakovic hit three free throws in the final 17 seconds.
Vin Baker had 20 points for the Sonics, while Payton had 18 points and 13 assists. Yugoslav Vladimir Radmanovic had six points, three rebounds, one block and one steal in NBA debut.
Zeljko Rebraca
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In both teams' season opener, Sacramento never managed to break open a tight, choppy game. Neither team led by more than nine points, and the Kings struggled to find the rhythm that made them the league's highest-scoring team in the past two seasons.
The Kings' disjointed effort must be due partly to the absence of Webber, the All-NBA forward who sprained his ankle during the preseason. Webber, who signed
a $122.7 million contract in the offseason, watched the game in a sharp gray suit.
Detroit Pistons' Zeljko Rebraca had six points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes in NBA debut, as Dallas Mavericks defeated his team 94-87.
